Non-woven fabrics produced from spun polymer materials are used in a variety of different applications. For example, such non-woven fabrics can be employed as the cover sheet or back sheet for disposable diapers or sanitary products. There is considerable interest in making disposable diapers more comfortable and better fitting to the baby. An important part of the diaper comfort is the softness of the non-woven fabrics used to make the diaper, including the diaper top sheet, barrier leg cuffs, and in some advanced designs, the fabric laminated to the back sheet film. In addition, in some diaper designs, a high degree of fabric elongation is needed to cooperate with elastic components for achieving a soft comfortable fit.
Also, contamination due to fiber buildup is a major problem encountered during roll good conversion of nonwovens through high strain/high shear processes, particularly with nonwovens having bicomponent fibers and particularly in processes which involve the use of adhesive to laminate nonwovens to other roll good substrates as contact pressure can force the adhesive through the porous web onto the converting equipment surfaces which in turn continually attracts loose fibers from the web itself.